Stocks Slip But Still Up For Week; Meritage Breaks Out

Stocks held slight losses in early-afternoon action Friday, but had climbed off session lows hit after the latest consumer confidence report.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.3% and was on pace to end a 10-day winning streak, while the Nasdaq shed 0.2%. The S&P 500 fell 0.1% and traded less than 1% off its all-time peak of 1576 hit intraday Oct. 11, 2007.

For the week, the main indexes are on pace to deliver gains of 0.3% to 0.8%. Volume in the stock market today remained sharply higher across the board, boosted by quadruple witching expirations of options and futures contracts.

A raft of economic reports has come out Friday, most notably a weaker-than-expected figure for the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index. The March reading was 71.8, well below forecasts for 77.5, according to Econoday.

A reading on New York state manufacturing also missed expectations, but industrial production data beat forecasts. In addition, the consumer price index rose more than expected, while core prices matched forecasts.

Among highly rated stocks, Meritage Homes (MTH) jumped 4% in heavy turnover, hitting a new multiyear high and clearing a flat base with a buy point at 44.95. The Arizona-based company has an IBD Composite Rating of 89 out of a best-possible 99.

On the earnings front, Hibbett Sports (HIBB) jumped 5% after its fourth-quarter earnings squeaked by forecasts, while revenue met analyst views. The sporting goods chain provided full-year guidance in line with expectations. Two days of gains have lifted the thinly traded stock above both its 50- and 200-day lines of support. It continues to work on a consolidation begun in August.

Also on the downside, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) tumbled 5%. A handful of analysts have ramped up their ratings on the stock, but at the same time, a company response Thursday did little to ease concerns over a federal review of Intuitive's robotic surgical equipment. Shares have been correcting hard for three weeks.

Even with the general market weakening, there have been few outright sell signals among Sector Leaders. One exception is Lannett (NYSE:LCI), which triggered an 8% loss rule from its 65.79 three-weeks-tight buy point Thursday. Investors who bought shares at that entry were forced to sell for risk ...

Medical giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced Friday that it has entered into a collaboration with tech titan Google to develop surgical robotics. The companies' press release didn't give many details, but said that J&J's Ethicon device business and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) will "bring ...

New-home sales rose to a seven-year high in February, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, defying forecasts for a drop amid harsh winter weather. The news boosted shares of homebuilders such as Toll Bros. (NYSE:TOL) and Lennar (NYSE:LEN). Sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of ...

As the uptrend resumes, Sector Leaders find themselves in demand. One indication is the up/down volume ratio, which compares the total volume on up days to the total volume on down days over the past 50 sessions. A ratio greater than 1.0 indicates positive demand for shares. Sector Leader ratios ...

03/23/2015 06:06 PM ET

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Select market data is provided by Interactive Data Corp. Real Time Services. Price and Volume data is delayed 20 minutes unless otherwise noted, is believed accurate but is not warranted or guaranteed by Interactive Data Corp. Real Time Services and is subject to Interactive Data Corp. Real Time Services terms. All times are Eastern United States. *Reflects real-time index prices.